Grab Food and Grab Credits/Pay Arrive in Vietnam

With their newest services, GrabFood and GrabPay, the Singapore-based company is set to break into the lucrative food delivery and e-payment markets in Vietnam, taking advantage of their popular ride-hailing app to connect millions of users to drivers, restaurants and each other.

GrabFood to connect restaurants and customers

Grab is no stranger to the food delivery market in Vietnam. In fact, many restaurants already use their ride-hailing app for deliveries. With GrabFood, however, the company hopes to expand their role by acting as the intermediary between restaurants and customers, giving Grab a distinct advantage over other, more established food delivery services in Vietnam.

GrabFood’s competitors, such as Vietnammm, generate income by taking a percentage of food sales made through their service. Because of this, restaurants are often forced to charge people more when they order online. People who call in get a better price because the restaurant doesn’t need to pay an intermediary. This is where GrabFood hopes to change the market. By earning its revenue through driver commissions, Grab can offer their online ordering service to restaurants at no cost. If there is a delivery fee, you’ll be alerted when you order.

Using GrabFood

To get started, open the Grab app and change from “Transport” to “Food” at the top of the screen. After setting your location, the app will list all the restaurants that deliver to your area, starting with those with the shortest estimated delivery time. If you don’t see any yet, that’s because this service is still in its infancy – but that will change as more restaurants join up.

Unfortunately, users aren’t yet able to use GrabPay when ordering through GrabFood. The company hopes to add this functionality in the near future.

How to find GrabFood on your Grab app, Grab Food is available in Vietnam even before Singapore.

Going cashless with GrabPay

Though many people still prefer to pay for Grab rides with cash, the company has now positioned itself to be one of the biggest players in a cashless Vietnamese economy. The e-payment market in Vietnam is relatively young, but already there are several big names, including MoMo, Alipay and, in the near future, ZaloPay. The e-payment sector grew by 22% in 2017, and several more companies are looking to get in on what is expected to be a $12.33 billion (USD) market by 2022.

Get set up with GrabPay

There are two payment types available through GrabPay. You can either register a credit card to be charged each time you use Grab, or you can add Grab Credits. Either way, you’ll need an ATM or credit card from an approved financial institution, or an account set up for online banking. Grab Credits are simply a pre-paid version of GrabPay. Keep in mind that you will be charged a fee each time you use pay-on-demand, so it makes sense to purchase credits if you’re a frequent Grab user.

To add a payment type, or to top up your credits, push the “Wallet” button in the top right corner of the Grab home screen. Then hit “Top Up Now” in the middle of the screen and select your payment type. For security purposes, you’ll need to set up a 6-digit PIN if you have any more than 200,000VND worth of credits. It really is that easy to add cashless functionality to your Grab experience.

ATM, credits cards and banks accepted by GrabPay

Transferring Grab Credits to a friend

One of the coolest things about the new GrabPay system is the ability to transfer credits to other users. This has the potential to truly change how Vietnam spends money, and it brings this country another step closer to being a cashless society. This capability is still waiting for necessary approvals and is working already in Singapore.

To transfer funds through GrabPay, start by tapping your wallet, which is in the top-right corner of the home screen. Select “Pay” and choose one of the two options. You can either scan their QR code or enter the phone number associated with the recipient’s Grab account. And the best part: The money is transferred instantly.